Words in the Air

Read by Terry Casburn 'Thanks' by W. S. Merwin, explores expressions of gratitude in various challenging circumstances including aftermaths of hospitals, funerals, muggings, wars and amidst the ongoing environmental degradation. Even in the face of adversity and indifference, the recurring theme is a resilient and constant expression of thankfulness. Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Beeches by David St. John

November 20, 2023 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.66 MB

Read by Terry Casburn In 'Beaches,' David St. John takes listeners on a meditative walk through a forest providing rich, atmospheric imagery of the beech trees and their environment. Throughout the journey, he contemplates the nature of peace, nostalgia, loss, and gratitude. The forest becomes symbolic, serving as the Sanctuary of Ghosts, just as the rhythm of walking becomes a rhythm of transcendence. Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Ocean of Earth by Guillaume Apollinaire

November 16, 2023 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.37 MB

Read by Marcus Kerwin Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Happiness by Raymond Carver

November 13, 2023 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.73 MB

Read by Terry Casburn 'Happiness' by Raymond Carver, depicts an early morning observation of two young boys delivering newspapers. Despite the early hour and their task at hand, their camaraderie and joy in their shared task radiates. The observer considers the honest, unadulterated happiness in childhood, a happiness that's unmarred by the complexities of adult emotions such as death, ambition or even love. This moment of simple beauty against the backdrop of an early morning leaves a last...

A Bird in Bishopswood by John Tickhill

November 09, 2023 05:00 - 3 minutes - 3.09 MB

Read by Gary Muller "A Bird in Bishopswood" is a short, 41-line poem written in Middle English alliterative verse in the late fourteenth century. The poem was written in 1395 by English poet John Tickhill, who was a rent collector at St. Paul's Cathedral. The poem is about a narrator who finds himself out of tune with the season of "the merry month of May". The narrator has spent Lent in melancholia and also shares their observations and interpretations of the bird's actions, the changin...

Bone-Flower Elegy by Robert Hayden

November 06, 2023 05:00 - 1 minute - 1.76 MB

Read by Terry Casburn "Bone-Flower Elegy" by Robert Hayden The poem describes a dream journey through different vast and intimidating locations, where erotic and violent scenes unfold on a stage. The speaker also encounters a haunting funeral chamber with a dancing naked corpse and comes upon groves of enormous, bone-like flowers in a desert, embodying both terrifying and tantalizing imagery. The poem concludes with a dichotomous creature, 'beast angel/angel beast', which embodies both vio...

You Who Never Arrived by Rainer Maria Rilke

November 02, 2023 04:00 - 1 minute - 1.78 MB

Read by Marcus Kirwan "You, Who Never Arrived" by Rainer Maria Rilke A deeply moving and introspective recital of Rainier Maria Rilke's poem, 'You, who never arrived'. The poem is an agonizing address to a beloved who remains ever elusive, never physically present yet continuously palpable in the narrator's world. The loss and longing for this beloved is expressed through vivid imagery, from landscapes and cityscapes to fleeting encounters, resonating a longing and a sense of loss over a l...

For Annie by Edgar Allan Poe

October 31, 2023 04:00 - 4 minutes - 4.12 MB

Read by Marcus Kirwan Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Beyond the Last Lamp by Thomas Hardy

October 30, 2023 04:00 - 2 minutes - 2.56 MB

Read by Terry Casburn Production and Sound Design by Kevin Seaman

Episodes